The 63-year-old Shepparton dental technician and Echuca Gun Club member upstaged the best clay shooters in Australia last week to win the National Single Barrel Championship at the Australian titles at Perth’s Whiteman Park’s Shooting Complex.
The crack shot downed 84 clays in succession to beat Kalgoorlie shooter Royce Normington who missed on his on 84th attempt to stay in the title race with Atkins.
It's the 21st time Atkins has won a national Australian or New Zealand championship. He has also been runner-up 22 times.
Atkins also won the Veterans (55 to 65 years) Single Barrel title at the championships contested by 422 shooters from Australian and New Zealand.
He also won the Veteran Champion of Champions title and just missed winning the open National Champion of Champions section with his performance of shooting 198 out of 200.
Atkins’ effort also won him selection in the All Australian team, named after the titles, for the 17th time.
The top 10 best performed shooters at the titles make up this team.
Atkins’ stellar shooting at the titles means he has claimed an Australian or New Zealand national championship in every decade he has competed since the 1980s.
He also gained the fifth placed ranking in Australia, also named at the conclusion of the championships, which he said came as a big and pleasant surprise.
He also finished in the top ten in the High Gun award at the championships.
‘‘I was very happy overall with my performances, particularly considering my age and the class of the competition,’’ Atkins, who started competitive shooting when he was 12, said.
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